Angel On Board - Guardian Angel 101

by Thornton, EJ

"Oh, this time I went bowling with Jeannie and her girls."

  "Oh, I see," Peter said sarcastically.

  "You see what?" Jeremi asked defensively.

  "Oh, nothing," Peter teased, knowing how he could drive his brother nuts with innuendo.

  "That's right, nothing!" Jeremi said firmly and looked out the window again. Peter laughed. Jeremi bit his lower lip to stop a laugh from breaking out. Eventually, he gave in and chuckled a little.

  "Just like when they were little," I said.

  A few minutes later the plane landed.

  Jeremi got off first. He could see Jeannie behind some other people, when he was about half way down the gateway. She tried to get a good vantage point, so she could see. When she got a glimpse of him, she went to the closest place she could. Peter and his family were behind him. Peter made them intentionally hang back, so they could watch Jeremi with Jeannie.

  As soon as Jeremi reached Jeannie at the end of the corridor, they embraced. She had both her arms around his neck. He had both his arms around her waist. They both squeezed very tight and he picked her up off the ground slightly. They fit well together. It reminded me of the Yin Yang. One side was black and one side was white, separately they were a strange shape, but put together, they formed a perfect shape. It was hard to tell where one started and the other stopped. I liked this. This was going to be all right.

  The embrace lasted a bit longer than the man behind them was willing to wait. An "Uh-hum," from him brought them both back into the moment. Jeannie looked down and blushed. Jeremi looked around for Peter and the family. When he saw them, he motioned for them to hurry up. Then he got out of the way and let the people behind him pass.

  "That was sweet," I told George and Henry.

  "Peter thought so, too," George pointed out.

  Peter and Melinda greeted Jeannie. Jeremi introduced Peter's kids to Jeannie as they all walked to the baggage claim. They got their bags and Jeannie drove them home.

  Once Jeremi had his things unloaded and put in his room, he and Jeannie left. They went to the pub to eat dinner, sing and talk.

  George, Henry, Pearl and I watched them from across the room. It was fun to watch Jeremi tell her about the dream. He described it in full detail, with great enthusiasm. His arms flew around. He talked fast. Jeannie was entranced and got chill bumps when he told her what Glory said about the sunrise and that I mentioned decorating it in his dream. Then he remembered he was wearing my sweater. He told her about how it just "fell" on him when he was alone. He told her a few of the elaborate details of the rest of that night, however, he kept much of it in. When he told her about the funeral and the brilliantly lit cross, they both started to tear up.

  When he finished, she told him of some of her similar experiences with Jack's death. How she thought he'd painted rainbows for his wife and made flowers bloom out of season, for her. How she thought he'd put on a personal lightning storm for the family because they always used to love to watch lightning storms roll in.

  Jeremi started to fall back into sadness when Henry went over and whispered in his ear for him to ask about the girls. Jeremi did and Jeannie regaled him with wonderfully cute stories of the everyday life of her little girls. He told Jeannie how much he had missed them and her. He smiled.

  The pub had started the Karaoke for the night. Jeannie and Jeremi had both put in several song tickets. They were eating their salads when he got called up to sing for the first time. He sang a beautiful love song, about a "One in a Million" love affair. Jeremi, being the showman he is, made every woman there think he sang it directly to her.

  Jeannie enjoyed watching him sing. She also enjoyed watching the other people stop what they were doing as soon as he sang his first note. He commanded a presence on stage that was remarkable. I loved watching him, too. Pearl told me that Jeannie loved their evenings together, up until his first song. After that, they were never alone again, until they left the pub. His singing was so memorable that many people in the pub came to tell him how wonderfully he sang. He was always very gracious to his fans. Some came up and asked him to sing duets with them. Unless Jeremi had seen them sing before and knew what they sounded like, he usually declined. Then there were some young women who pulled chairs to their table to talk to him. They pretended that Jeannie was invisible. It was these women that ruined the rest of the night for Jeannie. Jeremi should've asked them to leave, but instead he made some blatantly romantic gesture for Jeannie's sake to get the point across to them who he was with. As soon as one left, another showed up. Some bought him drinks and requested he do a special song for them. Jeremi drank up this attention, quite literally. This was all still very new to Jeannie. All this attention made her really uncomfortable.

  When both Jeremi and Jeannie sang songs, they enjoyed themselves. So that compensated for some of the other stressors of the evening. Last call had been made on songs, so they decided to leave. They went back to Jeannie's place. The girls were already tucked into their beds when Jeannie and Jeremi got there. The babysitter was watching TV. Her angel was reading a book beside her. Jeannie walked the babysitter home.

  Jeremi checked on the girls. He sat down on Carole's bed and rubbed her back to see if she woke up easily. Marie whispered in her ear excitedly, "Jeremi's here!" Carole rolled over quickly and saw him. She hugged him tight around his neck. He hugged her tight.

  "Mommy said you might be sad the next time I saw you. Are you sad?" Carole asked.

  "A little," Jeremi said. "But if I got another big hug from you it'd really help." Carole squeezed tighter. "I just wanted to get a hug. You get back to sleep now. I'll see you in the morning."

  "But --" Carole started.

  "Shhh," Jeremi said. "You'll wake up your sister. Your mama will be back soon and she'd shoot me if she knew I woke you up. So keep this our secret. Okay?"

  Carole snuggled back under the covers as Jeremi tucked her in. He kissed her on the forehead. He went to Lynne's bed and kissed his fingers and touched her cheek.

  Jeannie returned in time to catch Jeremi sneaking out of the girl's room. "Did you wake them up?" she asked with her hands on her hips, in a failed attempt to look disgusted. Actually, I think she thought it was sweet.

  "Me?" he looked at the ceiling to avoid eye contact.

  Jeannie tried to pass him in the narrow hallway to go check on the girls, but he grabbed her as she went by and kissed her passionately. "I've been waiting all night for that," he said, when they decided to come up for air. They kissed again quickly, then broke apart. Jeannie went in to check on the girls. Jeremi peeked in. Carole closed her eyes really hard in an effort to look asleep. Jeannie glanced toward the door. She gave him another disgusted look, to which he shrugged his shoulders. She shook her head and smiled slightly. She kissed Carole on the cheek, then she kissed Lynne. "Sweet dreams, baby girls!" she whispered and quietly shut their door.

  As soon as Carole heard the door close, she smiled. I bet she thought that she had fooled her mother.

  Jeannie followed Jeremi into the bedroom and their door closed.

  I watched the other angels for their lead. Were they going to follow them or give them privacy? "What now?" I asked.

  "We go," George said. "They will be all right. Marie has the house tonight, so we can go. She will summon us if she needs us."

  "This is a special night, Martin," Pearl said. "This is the night your charge will be conceived."

  I could feel my eyes get big. "Already?"

  They all nodded in the affirmative.

  "I've got to tell Glory!" I said.

  "Okay, let's go," George said.

  Glory sat at the kitchen table. Sarah and Vivian were there with her. Their angels stood behind them, rubbed their shoulders. Naomi and Grandmama greeted us. Vivian's angel, Goldie, smiled brightly.

  "May I?" I asked Naomi. She happily relinquished her position and I took her place rubbing Glory's shoulders. Glory readjusted in her seat. I think she sensed a change. "Naomi, Grandmama, Goldie, I wan
t you to meet Pearl. This is Jeannie's Guardian Angel. Jeannie is the mother of our future grandson."

  They all smiled and extended her a warm welcome.

  "Tell us about Jeannie," Naomi requested.

  "Jeannie, oh, my!" Pearl exclaimed. "She's a sweet one, but stubborn like all the rest of her family. She has a really strong sense of humor. Her favorite part of life is being a mother. She's completely devoted to two very sweet baby girls and soon, her baby boy. She works to support her family. She's a computer expert and does very well at it. She has a few really good friends and a lot who, she will find, are only fair-weather friends. She gets along easily with people, until they hurt her feelings. She needs to work on her forgiveness, but that's another story."

  "What happened to the girls' father?" Naomi asked.

  "He chose a career over his family. He left them for it. When she reached her limit of loneliness in the marriage, she challenged him on it. It was a long, very hard time for her. She gave him many chances and she endured the loneliness for the sake of the girls having a father. They always came first for her. The girls got her through the lonely time and the separation. She and their father are still friendly."

  "That's good," Naomi responded. "It's so nice to meet you. Baby girl here," she said, referring to Glory, "is worried to death about Jeremi. She was just saying how much she wished she could've spent some more time with him when he was here."

  Pearl went on to further describe Jeannie to them, but I decided to tune into Glory's conversation.

  "And I think he slept out there the night before the funeral," Sarah confided to the group. "There were bottles of beer hidden under the other trash in the can that I found this morning."

  "Oh Lord. Something's gonna have to happen," Glory said, referring to Jeremi's irresponsible state.

  "The rate he's going, it's gonna have to happen to him, if you know what I mean," Sarah said, slightly disgusted. "He did say he was seeing someone up there. A lady, with two kids, I think." Glory's look changed from worried to intrigued. She wanted more details. "They met at the pub, she sings a little." Glory sighed.

  "What does Peter think of her?" Vivian asked.

  "He knows who she is. That's about all. It's a new relationship, a month or two tops," Sarah continued.

  "Oh," Glory said, a little disappointed.

  "Well, something's gotta happen. He needs to change from what he's doing now, that's for sure," Sarah said. Then she got up from the table and cleared her dishes. She kissed both Glory and Vivian goodnight. Sarah and Grandmama left.

  "I should go, too," Vivian said. "It's been a long day. I have a lot of work to catch up on at home." Glory knew the only reason Vivian had gotten behind on her work was because Viv had spent every waking moment of the past few days here. "I'll call you in the morning," Vivian said and cleared her dishes. She hugged Glory, grabbed her purse and let herself out.

  Glory stayed seated at the table. She put her hands together and bowed her head, resting it on her hands. "Lord, please have mercy on Jeremi. Please open his eyes to his drinking problem and let him overcome it. Lord, please wake him up." She paused. "Amen."

  "You see," George said, "God is answering prayers. That was a vague prayer, to be sure. But when you're at a loss as to how to get something accomplished, just give it up to the Lord. God answers your prayers in ways you never imagined or thought possible. Believe me, very few on earth will see Jeremi's new situation as the answer to that prayer right away. But someday, when everyone looks back on this situation, they will see it. It will be crystal clear. God is the only one with crystal-clear foresight. He does let us angels in on it from time to time."

  George was so wise. I was so lucky to have him as my Guardian Angel.

  Glory got up and went to bed. I stayed with her. Henry, George and Pearl took Naomi back to Jeannie's house.

  Glory got ready for bed, tried to read a book briefly, but had too much on her mind to concentrate. She put the book down, turned out the light and stared up at the ceiling for a while. I told her about all the things that were happening to me, like I used to. When I was alive and excited about something, I'd just talk and talk. She seemed like she was listening now as she had then. For a little while, I felt like I was alive again and she really could hear me. It was a nice moment. After she fell asleep, I rested there with her, watched her, stroked her face and held her hand all night long. I got lost in her beauty.

  When morning neared, Naomi returned.

  "What happened?" I asked.

  "We went to Jeannie's," Naomi explained. "They were all sleeping. Pearl showed me around and told me all about Jeannie, Lynne and Carole. I'll prepare baby girl here about the child. It'll be just fine. Did you have a good night?"

  "Pretty good," I said. "She slept peacefully. I enjoyed watching her."

  "I know you being nearby made a difference. She's been tossing and turning, sleeping restlessly since you passed. She will sleep well again soon," Naomi reassured me. "Thanks for the night off. I enjoyed getting to know Pearl and her family."

  "Thanks for the night here," I said. "I enjoyed being home."

  "George told me to tell you to meet him back in the garden when you're ready."

  I kissed Glory good-bye for the moment. She stirred slightly. Then I went to Sarah's room and kissed her, then to Sheila's children's rooms and kissed them. Finally, I went to meet George in the garden.

  Chapter 14

  George informed me that the baby had indeed been conceived. So I was officially on duty as a Guardian Angel. It was an easy job in the early stages of the pregnancy. So basically we spent a lot of time floating between Glory, Jeremi, and Jeannie, and whoever else was on my heart at any particular time.

  Glory was involved in the legalities of closing out my life on earth. Life insurance was paid. She lived in the parsonage and would have to move. The church gave her a generous timeline to get moved. Since it was a reality she knew she faced, she began to make arrangements. It was hard on her, being in that house without me to help her. There was a memory of both Sheila and me around every corner. The change would be hard, but it would be the best thing for her in her new life. I was there every second I could be, to help her make these decisions and to give her strength any way I could.

  Lots of other people were on my heart these days, too. I went visiting a lot. A thought of someone blasted into my head, so I'd go to see him or her. They were always thinking about me, too, and often crying. I had a lot of fun during these times, letting them know how close I really was. Sarah always left lights on. If she was depressed, all I had to do was turn one off and she'd snap right out of it. Pretty soon, she caught on to the game. She'd say, "Sorry, Dad," like she used to when I was alive and I turned the lights out on her. On the nights when she missed me the most, I think she left the lights on, on purpose, to see if any seemingly turned out by themselves.

  Jeannie was fun during this time, too. Pearl got her to start taking vitamins again. She did it by repeating how "run down" Jeannie felt, making her actually feel more tired than she was. She repeated to Jeannie that she needed to take better care of herself. She'd put angel light on commercials saying the same thing. Finally, Jeannie got the message and dug around her cabinet for vitamins. She came across her leftover pre-natal vitamins from when she was pregnant with Lynne. She picked them up, examined them and chuckled, putting them back on the shelf. Failing to find any other vitamins, she decided to take those. The first time she did though, she said, "Well, I gotta use these up anyways, they were so expensive!" Pearl laughed up a storm. She was successful at getting Jeannie to take vitamins again, pre-natal ones at that. What a slick operator!

  Jeannie went to the pub to see Jeremi a couple of times early on in her pregnancy. The first time, Pearl hid her purse to keep Jeannie from buying any drinks. That only worked once. All it did subsequently was make Jeannie more aware of where her purse was, so Pearl had to keep coming up with new ploys to keep her from drinking.

  We de
cided it was time she found out that she was pregnant, since she unknowingly put the baby at risk by still drinking. We decided that the next time she was on Exile, there would be enough time to do what needed to be done.

  The stage was set. Her ex-husband had the girls at her apartment. Jeannie went to the pub to get Jeremi and go out to dinner. Pearl whispered in her ear all day about her side hurting. So much so, that Jeannie had begun to favor her lower right side. While Jeremi drove to the restaurant, Pearl's coaching intensified. Pearl made Jeannie think that she was feeling very hot, that her side hurt worse and that she was sick to her stomach. During this time, Jeannie was very quiet. Jeremi sang the songs on the tape deck and was oblivious to Jeannie's changing condition. By the time they got to the restaurant, Jeannie was pale and sweating and sure that she was feeling a very sharp pain in her lower right side.

  After he stopped the car, Jeremi noticed her condition. "Are you all right?" he asked, very concerned and slightly shocked at the change in her appearance in such a short time.

  "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, lying to look brave, determined to keep going. Pearl warned us that she was really stubborn about getting sick. "Let's go in," she said, then winced in pain.

  Jeremi came around the car to open the door for her. He took her hand to help her out, but as soon as she stood up, Pearl said, "It hurts really bad right here." Pearl touched her, just inside her right hipbone. Jeannie doubled over completely.

  "That's it, I'm taking you to a hospital, right now," Jeremi said and helped her back into the car. Jeremi was so concerned that he drove frantically. So Henry, George and I took over the safety stuff. Jeremi reached over and took Jeannie's hand in a sweet gesture of support.

  "I'm sorry," Jeannie said.

  "For what? There's nothing to be sorry for," Jeremi reassured her. They were quiet the rest of the way to the emergency room.

  Once inside, Jeannie was admitted right away for fear she had appendicitis. Once flat on her back, Pearl lightened up on the pain in her side. She had to ease up for fear they'd operate on the poor girl.